End tuft support for pile shearing mechanism



m. 25, 1958 J. HAYNES 2 2 81 END TUFT SUPPORT FOR PILE SHEARINGJMECHANISM Filed. Feb '7, 1955 2 Sheets-Shet 1- J. HAYNES Feb. 25 i958 END TUFT SUPPORT ,FOR FILE SHEARING MECHANISM Filed Feb, '7 3.955

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent M END TUFT SUPPORT FOR PEE SHEARING MECHANISM John Haynes, Rastrick, Brighouse, England, assignor to T. M. M. (Research) Limited, Oldham, England 7 Application February 7, 1955, Serial No. 486,316

Claims priority, application Great Britain February 8, 1954 4 Claims. (Cl. 139-2) The invention has reference to Axminster carpet looms of the type wherein the ends of the inserted tufts are cut by the shearing action of two knives which are brought together (after the tufts have been turned up) with a scissor-like movement, the knife edges meeting first at the weft-insertion side of the fabric and progressively across the fabric to complete the operation at the selvedge shuttle side. This form of cutting mechanism possesses the characteristic disadvantage that there is a tendency for the end tuft at the selvedge shuttle side to be pushed aside (i. e., outwardly in a direction normal to the selvedge) by the knives before it is cut, due to the fact that (unlike the other tufts) it is unsupported by other tufts on its outer flank, with the result that the end tuft is not cut so closely as the other tufts in the row, for which reason it has been customary for the last row of tufts on the selvedge shuttle side of the loom to be trimmed by hand or by machine when the carpet has been removed from the loom after the weaving operation.

The object of the present invention is to provide, in a loom of the specified type, means whereby the disadvantage referred to may be obviated, so that the additional trimming operation may be rendered unnecessary and the time and cost of production correspondingly diminished.

The invention accordingly consists in the provision, in an Axminster carpet loom of said type, of a supporting element which is located adjacent the selvedge shuttle side of the loom and which is moved in timed relationship with the operation of the tuft-cutting knives, so as to assume a position in which it will afford positive lateral support for the end tuft on its selvedge flank at the instant when it comes between the cutting knives.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of mechanism whereby the aforesaid tuft-supporting element is actuated at the times desired by the movement of one of the cutting knives (preferably the back knife) or of a part associated therewith as said knife advances for the cutting operation, means being arranged to withdraw the supporting element at other times to an inoperative position.

One embodiment of the invention, a particular description of which follows, is illustrated in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings. In said drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the tuft-cutting mechanism of an Axminster carpet loom, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device provided by this invention, showing the parts thereof in the positions occupied before the tuft-cutting operation, Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2, illustrating the positions of the parts of the device during the cutting operation, and

' Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation depicting the cutting operation. Fig. 5 is a detail view similar to Fig. 4, but with the support finger removed.

In the drawings, the numeral indicates the cloth plate, over which the woven carpet passes after completion of the tuft-inserting, beating-up and tuft-cutting operations. The cutting operation is performed by a back knife 11 cooperating with a front knife 12. The back knife 11 is supported across the loom by means of an arm 13 pivotally mounted upon a pin 14 at each side thereof. The front knife ,12 is similarly carried by brackets 15 supported by arms 16 in the appropriate position relative to the upper face of the carpet.

The device provided by this invention comprises a finger 17 which is mounted in a substantially horizontal position at the selvedge shuttle side of the loom in a guide 18 carried by the adjacent bracket 15, said guide 18 permitting a limited degree of endwise sliding movement of the finger 17 towards and away from the selvedge of the fabric. The inner end 171 of said finger 17 is so fashioned and located that, when moved inwardly it will constitute an abutment on the outer or selvedge flank of the outermost inserted tuft which is to be cut, thereby supporting said outermost tuft against lateral or outward deflection due to the scissor operation of the knives during the cutting operation. A helical spring 19 carried by the shank of said finger 17, and compressed between a collar 29 fixed thereto and the said fixed guide 18, is effective to hold the finger in an inoperative position clear of the tuft-insertion mechanism except when actuated in the manner hereinafter described.

The arm 13 which supports the back knife at the selvedge shuttle side of the loom is coupled to a rod 21 extending forwardly to a pivoted connection at 22 with a lever 23 which depends from a short shaft 24 mounted upon an off-set 25 carried by the bracket 15 so that the lever 23 may rotate about a horizontal axis at right angles to the direction of the warp threads. Said shaft 24 carries a second lever 26 at the free end of which is fixed a cam member 27 arranged to cooperate with a second cam member 28 fixed to the support finger 17, said two cams having co-acting inclined surfaces 271, 281 so arranged that, when the back knife 11 advances to perform the cutting operation, carrying with it the rod 21 connected to the cam lever 26, an inward endwise movement is imparted to the support finger 17 by the cooperative action of said cam surfaces and the inner end 171 of the finger 17 is brought into contact with the end tufts of the fabric.

Reference to Fig. 4, in which the warp threads are designated by the letter A and the weft threads by the letter B, will show the manner in which the yarn forming a tuft C is severed by the advancing movement of the back knife 11 against the upper edge of the front knife 12.

The width of the end 171 of the support finger 17 is advantageously such that it controls not only the forward leg 0 of a new tuft C to be cut but also the back leg d of the tuft D previously inserted, which is thus trimmed simultaneously with the cutting of said leg c of the new tuft C, as shown in Fig. 5.

From the foregoing, it is evident that when the pile shearing mechanism of a carpet loom operates to shear the pile on a carpet passing through the mechanism, the end tufts will be sheared perfectly inasmuch as they are adequately supported according to the invention in such fashion as to eliminate the necessity of later or special shearing or trimming. Thus, the shearing operation is simplified andtime and labor saved as a result.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A pile shearing mechanism for a pile tuft fabric having a selvedge side, the pile shearing mechanism being adapted to execute cutting operations upon the selvedge side of said pile fabric during manufacture and including a movable supporting element shiftable periodically for supporting the end tuft at said selvedge side of the pile fabric against lateral or outward deflection during a cutting operation, movable front and back tuft-cutting knives for cutting or shearing the pile on said fabric, and

asaaaso means for moving said supporting element in timed relation corresponding to the movement of said cutting knives and into effective supporting position to provide lateral support for the end tuft at the instant the latter is disposed between the cutting knives in the cutting or shearing operation.

2. A pile shearing mechanism for a pile tuft fabric having a selvedge side, the pile shearing mechanism being adapted to execute cutting operations upon the selvedge side of said pile fabric during manufacture and including a movable supporting element shiftabie periodically for supporting the end tuft at said selvedge side of the pile fabric against lateral or outward deflection during a cutting operation, movable tuft-cutting knives for cutting or shearing the pile on said fabric, means operatively associated with one of the cutting knives effective to actuate the movable supporting element into a position adjacent the outer flank of said end tuft upon movement of the one cutting knife for the cutting operation, and means for withdrawing said supporting element to idle position subsequently to the cutting operation.

3. Pile shearing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the movable supporting element includes a finger capable of predetermined limited endwise movement toward and away from the pile fabric to be sheared, an inner end upon the finger shaped to form a abutment for the outer flank of the outermost tuft on said pile fabric,

and a spring connected to said finger ineffective position to urge said finger normally away from said pile fabric, and wherein the means for moving the supporting element includes a first cam connected to the finger, a pivotally mounted lever having a second cam operatively engaging with the first cam, and a pivotal lever linkage interconnects the pivotally mounted cam lever and the back knife, the arrangement being such that upon advance of said back knife to perform the cutting or shearing operation in conjunction with the other cutting knife, the pivotal ievcr linkage transmits motion to said cam lever so as to actuate the first cam on said finger and thereby move said finger to the tuft-supporting position.

4. Pile shearing mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the tuft supporting element or finger has the inner end of suflicient extent and width to be effective to support laterally not only the tuft to be sheared, but also the back leg of the previously inserted tuft, so that the back leg will likewise be supported while being sheared.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

